Son of the late actor Emile Genest, Claude Genest could easily have run for the Quebec Liberal Party. Instead, the 40-year-old TV celebrity and Permaculturalist is "running to lose" with the Green Party.

CLAUDE GENEST TURNS GREEN
Michelle Lalonde
Gazette environmental reporter

Claude Genest would have had an easy ride into the legislature on a first-class ticket courtesy of his late father, if he'd chosen to run as a Liberal in this election.

His father , Emile Genest, a film and television actor and radio personality best remembered for his role as Napoleon in La Famille Plouffe, was well-connected to the Liberal Party.

He campaigned closely with Claude Ryan for years against the sovereignist cause, and counted chief Liberal Party organizers among his closest friends.
Emile's death last month has put a spotlight on Claude. Newspapers have been running long obituaries and tributes to Emile for the past two weeks, including family photos and details.

This week's edition of 7 Jours, a popular Quebec star-watch magazine, hits newsstands today with a profile on Claude, as a follow up to a glowing tribute to his father published in last week's issue.

Born in Hollywood in 1963 and brought up on Nuns' Island, Claude Genest happens to have the looks and confidence of a movie star.

The electorate may recognize his face from his appearances in such television series as Lance et Compte, Sirens, and more recently as host of Travel Travel.

With all that going for him, Genest, 40, probably had a fighting chance at a seat if he'd run for any of the three main parties.

So why is he running as Green Party candidate in Verdun ?

" I guess the joke is I'm running to lose, but I'm going to lose pushing for something I believe in," said Genest, recently elected vice-president of the Green Party of Quebec.

Genest is a "Permaculturalist" who splits his time between Montreal and Isle LaMotte, Vermont, where he owns several acres of land and teaches permaculture at his own institute.

Permaculture, according to Genest's Web site is "an ethical system of design that uses nature's patterns to create a sustainable, regenerative culture and abundance in our lives. Harmonizing people, animals, land and buildings, it turns wastes into resources, problems into solutions, and mindsets around. "

Genest is a committed ecologist who quotes modern American eco-gurus like Janine Benyus and Amory Lovins in causal conversation. He claims to have "butted heads" for the past five years with is dad over their differing views on the need for an ecological revolution. In the end, he had his father’s blessing on his decision to go Green.

He said he decided to get into politics - or at least start "speaking out" - at a conference in New York about six months ago. "All my heroes were there, all these people I've been reading, and in my mind I realized, I too have a voice. I too can speak up for this."

He said he would of course roll up his sleeves and do the job if he won. But he wants to use his position to raise awareness about ecologically sound ways of doing things, and to destroy a couple of myths about the Green Party along the way.

Myths like : environmentalists want to stop all development,or that making money is somehow, in and of itself, ecologically unsound.

He believes long-term profit will only come when society realizes that waste has a value, and he points to the need to harness the potential of waste water, wasted heat and energy, and wasted material byproducts.

" We can do well doing good," he says, quoting Ray Anderson, the owner of Interface, a U.S. carpet maker that reclaims its carpets after use and recycles them.

He points to places around the world where Greens are gaining power, like Germany, Denmark and New Zealand."

I'm going to run federally too," he said. " I made a vow that I'm going to start speaking up, and I'll risk being ridiculed but I'm not going to stop speaking out."